October 21st

“they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more;” Micah 4:3b

true,
we may not carry guns
but oh, the damage we do
with the finger pointing out
all the mistakes another makes.
we do not walk around with swords,
but have you seen the wounds
we can inflict with just
a simple word of judgment,
that subtle thrust of cruelty?
we don’t hurl spears
at anyone these days,
but with those small devices
we carry in our palms,
the sharpened points of
every platform on social media
serves the same purpose today.
remind us, Gentle God,
that we still learn war today,
we just don’t notice it
because it does not fit
the image we have carried
around from all the movies
we watched so long ago.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 20th

“Do not drag me away with the wicked,
     with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
     while mischief is in their hearts.” Psalm 28:3

they just will not leave us
alone.
knocking on our door,
paired with their partner in clone,
smiling broadly, wanting only
a few minutes of our time—
to try to convince us that
wickedness is the new faith,
that cruelty is the best thing
to come along since sliced bread,
that we certainly want to get in
on the ground floor of buying
shares in cryptopeace,
all while planning new tricks
to play on those who have
already signed on the dotted line,
rubbing their hands gleefully
in anticipation of the bonuses
they will get if they meet their quota.
so not-so-gently, take our hands
and help us to slam the door
in the faces of these drones of disaster
and listen to your heart which
shows us the way to life which
is filled with grace, love, and hope.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 19th

I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob,
   I will gather the survivors of Israel;
I will set them together
   like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture;
   it will resound with people. Micah 2:12

maybe it is the 2 or 3
gathering together.
it could be those
‘hidden righteous ones’
who are scattered only
you know where, O God.
perhaps it is the little kids
on every playground
who make up new games
or even different rules
so everyone can play.
it might even be the woman
who sits on her apartment patio
and casually smiles and greets
everyone who strolls by
even if they never respond.
but in the world where the angry
seem to dominate social media,
in this time when bitterness
has polluted almost every relationship,
in these moments when folks wonder
if there is any decency, justice,
compassion, or grace anymore,
remind us that you always keep
a remnant close to your heart
who will bring the healing of us all.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 18th

“Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.” Matthew 16:20

you are but one among the hungry
yet we keep our pantries locked,
you are the stranger we meet
but let fear silence our welcome,
you lie among the wounded
but our prayers are drowned out
by the vast indifference of the world,
your name is always on our lips
but never when it might cost us something—
which is all okay, we tell ourselves,
we are simply practicing what
you told your friends so long ago.
yet, despite our stubborn silence
you are still here—
in all those places we avoid,
all the people we walk past,
in every grief-stricken heart,
in every shattered life longing
to be seen.
for the world yearns to see Jesus
in believers who begin living
as if he were here
and not just a well-kept secret.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 17th

Take words with you and return to the LORD; say to him, "Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Hosea 14:2

O God of these unsettled days,
when anger shouts
louder than wisdom,
when fear builds walls
where bridges should be,
when we have more opinions
than compassion,
and more reasons to turn away
than to reach out our hands—
teach us the words
that bring us home to you.
take the broken sentences of our lives,
the apologies caught in our throats,
the prayers that stumble over our grief,
and the hopes we hardly dare to whisper.
let us bring them all—
not polished, not perfect,
but honest as the ache in our hearts.
for you have never asked us
to arrive with everything figured out,
only to come with open hands
and hearts willing to begin again.
so receive the words we have, O God,
and make them seeds of mercy,
instruments of peace,
and promises of love
in a world desperate to hear them.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 16th

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me." Psalm 139:1

you know the ghosts that
inhabit the attics of my memories
and those monsters of my id
hiding in the closets and under
the bed on which i lay my weariness.
you know those words of shame,
of criticism, of unkindness written
in the dictionary of my mind
and you have heard those love
songs, those lullabies i composed
for myself in the silence of life.
you know those sirens who sit
on the rocks singing their seduction
and you know those paths i am still
searching for in my heart.
you know,
because you love me enough
to want to know me even more.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 15th

“Yet I have been the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.” Hosea 13:4

oh, are we good!
at forgetting, that is—
that you didn’t just bring
long-dead ancestors
out of unimaginable lives
in a time covered in dust’s history
but you come far more often
than we notice to offer
a way out of our foolishness.
forgetting that no matter
how many celebrities or
politicians or influencers
we believe can offer us
that impossible life which
is based on today’s equivalent
of smoke and mirrors,
you still pile grace upon grace,
hope upon hope,
peace upon peace
into our empty souls
as you keep your promise
never to forget us.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman